Preliminary Evaluation of Pre-Crash Safety System Effectiveness

Pre-crash safety systems are reversible systems that are deployed in a vehicle when external and internal sensors determine that a crash is likely. This paper provides a preliminary estimate of the effect of such systems in reducing the number and the severity of injuries to automobile occupants in traffic accidents. These estimates are obtained by combining test data for pre-crash system response with the statistical information on vehicle crashes available in NASS-CDS database for years 1996-2007. It is observed that significant reductions in the number and the severity of occupant injuries may be achievable by pre-crash systems that include pre-crash braking enhancements and seatbelt pre-tightening actions.